What better way to start a list of Top 10 Biker Songs than with a racing chopper’s engine roars, fast approaching and then flying past, on ‘Wheels of Steel’? That’s the way ‘Motorcycle Man’ welcomed listeners to New Wave of British Heavy Metal legends Saxon’s definitive album, and it never fails to send an adrenalin rush. ‘Live to Ride, Ride to Live’ Another heavy metal stomper, this time originating on this side of the pond, ‘Ride to Live, Live to Ride’ anchored Twisted Sister’s underrated, pre-breakthrough sophomore album, ‘You Can’t Stop Rock ’n’ Roll.’ Frontman Dee Snider is an avid motorcyclist who has an annual ride to benefit a food bank on his native Long Island. ‘Ballad of Easy Rider’ Before it was cut by the Byrds as a single, ‘Ballad of Easy Rider’ was recorded solo by band leader Roger McGuinn to make the deadline for that iconic movie’s soundtrack. But amazingly, the song’s opening lyrics, “The river flows / It flows to the sea,” were scribbled on a napkin by Bob Dylan, who declined actor Peter Fonda’s request that he contribute a song, but told him to “give this to McGuinn.”

“Born to lead at breakneck speed / With high octane, we’re spitting flames.” When Judas Priest head out to the highway, they don’t go for slow rides or stop to pick up sweet hitchhikers. Instead, they do pedal to the heavy metal, all blinding chrome and melting rubber, as evidenced by the thrilling juggernaut that is ‘Freewheel Burning.’ motorcycles for sale daventryAfter all, Rob Halford’s Harley won’t drive itself onto the stage.joe rocket michael jordan motorcycle jacket Not every motorcycle song has to open the throttle ’til a fuel line explodes. motorcycle for sale in palawanNeil Young’s ‘Motorcycle Mama,’ from his laid-back ’78 album, ‘Comes a Time,’ is a perfect case in point, with Neil and Nicolette Larson trading lines as they leisurely cruise on down the highway. buy used ducati 848 in india

Whatever kind of trouble they get up to, one gets the feeling that speeding won’t be one of them. The only reason ‘Midnight Rider’ doesn’t place higher in our list of Top 10 Biker Songs is because we can’t really say for sure that the Allman Brothers Band’s outlaw protagonist was actually riding a motorcycle (instead of a horse, say). motorcycle repair arcadia caBut one certainly gets that impression based on Gregg Allman’s forlorn vocal and the subsequent motorcycle accidents that rudely claimed the lives of his brother Duane and bassist Berry Oakley.harley davidson for sale in brunswick ga Another biker song that revs its engine with a custom piece of complex machinery developed by a man named Les Paul, ‘Bad Motor Scooter’ remains perhaps the signature tune recorded by Montrose.

The song was written by singer Sammy Hagar and intriguing in that it predicts his future hit, ‘I Can’t Drive 55.’ ‘Bat Out of Hell’ At nearly 10 minutes in length, ‘Bat Out of Hell’ saw composer Jim Steinman taking the concept of a teenage tragedy song to its ultimate conclusion. In fact, thanks to the ample talents of his partner-in-crime, Meat Loaf, Steinman piloted this evocative, theatrical masterpiece all the way to the end of the road, over the barricade, and into the ocean. But hey, excess sells — to the tune of an estimated 43 million copies worldwide. One of the great posthumously released Jimi Hendrix songs, ‘Ezy Ryder’ (first heard on 1971’s ‘Cry of Love’ collection; later 1997’s fully sanctioned ‘First Rays of the New Rising Sun’) was allegedly inspired by the era-defining motion picture bearing that same name. And yet, as with most things Hendrix, the song transcends the period and strikes a timeless chord with listeners — never mind riders — of any era.

‘Born to Be Wild’ The No. 1 song in our list of the Top 10 Biker Songs has literally become synonymous with biker culture nearly 50 years beyond the 1969 release of the movie that adopted it for its totemic anthem. Originally heard one year earlier on Steppenwolf’s eponymous debut album, ‘Born to Be Wild’ and its distinctive chug-chug-chug persists as the ultimate soundtrack for racing down life’s highway atop two wheels.What are the best motorcycle songs? Listen to Keef’s chord changes at the start of “Brown Sugar”. Go on, do it now. It sounds like he’s starting up a motorcycle engine and then changing up the gears doesn’t it? It always gets me doing the same thing whenever I hear it. And that’s what makes it one of my top 10 favourite motorcycle songs. With Bluetooth in helmets and all sorts of special earplugs for listening to music while you ride, music is an integral part of many people’s rides. Music has not distracted from my riding, but given it an extra dimension.

Sometimes I put my iPhone on random and let it choose my playlist. It brings up some surprising choices sometimes like there is a poltergeist in there. For example I rode past the smoke stacks at Tarong power station and Greg Lake from ELP was singing about “dark satanic mills” in Blake’s “Jerusalem”. And I don’t know how many times John Fogerty has asked “Who’ll Stop the Rain?” just when it starts to belt down. Some songs are relevant because the lyrics mention motorbikes: But there are some misnomers too: Another singer who captures that essence in songs about cars, bikes and roads is Bruce Springsteen. There are too many songs to quote, but my favourite, “Hungry Heart“, also has rock’s greatest opening verse: “Got a wife and kids in Baltimore, Jack; I went out for a ride and I never went back. Like a river that don’t know where it’s flowing; I took a wrong turn and I just kept going.” (Notice how both Fogerty and Springsteen have “Heart” in their titles?

That’s where riding really gets us – in the heart.) I didn’t mention the obvious: “Born to Run”! It’s about driving “in suicide machines”, “chrome wheeled, fuel-injected” (written at a time when bikes didn’t have EFI). Ok, he does tell his passenger to “just wrap your legs round these velvet rims and strap your hands across my engines” and sing about “riding”, but Americans refer to “riding” in their cars which they call a “ride”. Still a great song on a ride, but it doesn’t make my top 10 because it’s also a little bit twee as is “Born to be Wild” from Easy Rider. Coincidentally Springsteen sang at the 105th Harley anniversary in Milwaukee five years ago while sitting on a Harley. One thing that makes “Born to Be Wild” a little more cringe-worthy is the Harley engine at the start. Yes, it was used in the soundtrack of “Easy Rider”, but even that is just a little too contrived. Better songs from that soundtrack were The Band’s “The Weight” which truly sums up the open-road wanderer and the basic sentiment of The Byrds’ “Wasn’t Born to Follow” written strangely by a New York female Jew (Carole King) and everyone knows Jews don’t ride, or at least their mothers won’t let them!

Not that motorcycle sounds in a song make it twee. Just listen to the “motorcycle” on Meatloaf’s “Bat out of Hell”. However, it was actually producer Todd Rundgren playing it on a guitar and it leads straight into a hair-raising axe solo. And who could deny the song’s irresistible plot about a motorcycle crash (a modern-day take on the Shangri-Las’ “Leader of the Pack”) and lines like “I’m gonna hit the highway like a battering ram on a silver black phantom bike”? There are many obvious songs and that’s exactly why they haven’t been chosen. Such as AC/DC’s “Highway to Hell”, although I do have room for their “Gone Shootin’” which is nothing about bikes at all, but has a great swagger and does include the line “She was running on overdrive, a victim of overkill”. Hey look, I’m not going to explain myself on every song; after all, it’s not a definitive list, just my personal faves. MOTORBIKE WRITER’S TOP 10 MOTORCYCLE SONGS